Device for placing gravel in holes



J. D. BALL Maly 13, 1941.

DEVICE FOR PLACING GRAVEL IN HOLES Filed May 4. 1939 A 2 .1\- 'v E J 7// ///M/// N// My OM Va va. 5 J 4 1 a v v 7 M. 7 M 8 w /w at M M p M. L ,7 7 r u M V V M 6 9 4 2 3 5 MTTORI-VEY. I

Patented May 13," 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE 241,439 DEVICE FOR PLACING GRAVEL 1N HOLES James D. Bail, Freer, Tex.

. Application May 4, 1939, Serial No. 271,662 4 Claims. (01. 166-19) The present invention is directed to a device for placing gravel or similar unconsolidated material in well bottoms. It comprises broadly a slide port and slide valve arrangement to be attached to the bottom of a container which may be lowered into a bore hole. Upon contact with the bottom of the hole the slide valve is caused to slide upwardly and allows material to pass out of the ports of the container.

One object of the present invention is the provision of an apparatus for depositing gravel in an open bore hole, such device to open for release of gravel upon contact with the bottom or with material previously placed into the hole.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a device having means for diverting the gravel to the sides of the hole.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of adevice which remains open after dumping and may be withdrawn from the hole in an open position, thus avoiding a swabbing efiect.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of an apparatus for graveling which may be constructed with relatively large ports through which the gravel may be discharged.

It has been customary in completing oil wells 1 to set a tubular strainer or screen in the oil producing formation. It has long been known that, by providing a gravel pack around the strainer, an improved flow of oil from the producing formation may be obtained. According to the present invention, an improved device for depositinggravelin the bottom of an open bore hole is provided which has the advantage that bridging of the gravel within the device during the dumping operation is overcome and which is provided with a trigger so that it remains open after the dumping is completed and'maybe drawn up to ,the surface in the open position so that there is no swabbing efiect.

Further advantages of the device of the present invention which will hereafter be called a dump bailer bottom will appear from the following description of the accompanying drawing in which- Fig, 1 is a sectional view of the dump bailer bottom in closed position, and

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the dump bailer. bottom in open position.

Referring to Fig. 1 in detail, numeral I designates the lower portion of a bailer or similar container. Attached to bailerl by means of screw threads is an inside sleeve 2, the upper portion of which is cylindrical, but the lower portion of which is cut away to form two ports on opposite sides of the cylinder, the remaining portion of the sleeve being designated by numeral 3. Aflixed to the lower end of inside sleeve 2 is a circular piece 4. Covering the ports ofinside sleeve 2 is outside sleeve 5 which is of such asize that it may slide along sleeve 2, but which forms a substantially tight closure by contact with sleeve 2 and circular piece 4 when it is in a closed position. The upper portion of outside sleeve 5 is cylindrical, but the lower portion is cut away to form ports corresponding to the ports in outside sleeve 2, the remaining portion of the sleeve being designated by numeral 6.

Attached to outside sleeve 5 and movable therewith are the circular piece I and the cylindrical,

piece 8, the latter being provided with holes 9 and ill for purposes which will later appear. .One end of bolt II is passed through an opening in circular piece 4 and is provided with a nut 42, the latter being firmly fastened to piece 4 by weldin as shown in the drawing, or by other suitable means. The other end of bolt II is provided with a nut I3, and trigger I4 is attached to the end of the bolt by welding. As shown in Fig. l, a portion of trigger l4 projects into hole 9 and so hold the valve in a closed position. Bolt II has an irregular cross section, and the hole in plate I fits snugly around bolt ll so that outside sleeve 5 is kept from rotating and the 'ports in sleeves 2 and 5 are maintained in their relative positions.

Plate 4 is provided with a spear head or a wedge-shaped guide surface l5 which causes the bailer to complete the dumping operation and diverts the dumped material to the sides of the hole in a more or less equally distributed manner.

In Fig. 2, the bailer bottom illustrated in Fi 1 is shown in an open position. It will be observed that outside sleeve 5 has moved upwardly exposing the ports in inside sleeve 2, and that outside sleeve I0 is held fixed in this open position by the projection of the lower end of trigger l4 into hole III 01' tubing 8.

The method of using the above described device is as follows:

The bailer bottom is used with a bailer body of any desired length made of tubing, the inside diameter of which is equal to or less than that of the inner sleeve of the bailer bottom. With the bailer bottom set in the closed position, as shown in Fig. l, the bailer is hung in the hole on a bailing line with the top of the bailer hung at a convenient height and is filled from the top. The bailer is then lowered into the hole and upon i eachingthe bottom the weight of the bailer body and material being dumped forces the eral advantages.

' tion having been thus described outer sleeve of the bailer bottom up over the inner sleeve 2, opening the port valves and allowing the bailer to start dumping. The port valves are held in the open position by trigger I4 until the bailer bottom is reset, which assures that the bailer will continue to dump as it is picked off the bottom. As the bailer is raised with the valves open, there is no pumping or swabbing effect as would occurif the bailer were raised through a hole containing liquid with the valve in the bottom closed.

From the above description it is obvious that the device of the present invention possesses sev- Since the ports are formed in the side of the sleeve, they can be made relatively large. Further, when the valve is open, the outlet is unobstructed by any parts of the valve. This combination of the above mentioned ad vantages substantially prevents bridging of gravel during the dumping operation. If there should be any tendency for the gravel to bridge during the dumping, the raising of the hailer through the liquid in the'hole willwash out through' the open valve any-gravel remaining in the ballet.

Obviously, many changes may be made in the above described device without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, an inverted cone may besubstituted for the inverted wedge l5 in the, bottom of inside sleeve 2, and the size and shape of the valve ports may be altered.

The nature and objects of the present invenand illustrated, what is claimed as new and useful and is desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A device for placing gravel or similar ma- .terial in the bottom of a bore hole comprising a container adapted to be lowered into a bore hole,

and means for raising said valve sleeve upward to expose said parts.

2. An apparatus for dumping gravel into the bottom of a bore hole comprising an inner sleeve provided with a bottom and side ports adjacent said bottom, an outside sleeve fitting slidingly around said inside sleeve, said outside sleeve being arranged to cover the ports of the inside sleeve when in its lowermost positiombut to uncover them when in its uppermost position, and means connected to said inside sleeve for locking the outside sleeve in its lowermost position.

3. A device for placing gravel in a bore hole comprising a container suitable for holding gravel, said container being provided with side ports adjacent its bottom, a sleeve fitting slidingly around the lower portion of said container arranged to close said ports when in its lowermost position and to open said ports when in its uppermost position, a cylindrical member below said sleeve connected thereto with its axis in line with the axis of said sleeve, at least two holes in the wall of said cylindrical member, a pair of arms connected to said container, one of said arms being arranged to cooperate with one of said holes to lock the sleeve in its lowermost position, but to releaseit when the bottom of the cylindrical member strikes an obstruction with a predetermined amount of force, and the other arm arranged to cooperate with the other hole to lock the sleeve in its uppermost position.

4. A device for placing gravel or similar material on the bottom of a bore hole comprising a container provided with side ports adapted to be lowered into a bore hole, a slide valve attached to said container, said valve being adapted to slide upwardly and open the side ports when it comes in contact with the bottom of a hole, means connected to said container arranged to lock said sleeve valve in its closed position and-to be unlocked when the device strikes an obstruction with side ports in the lower portion of said container,

a sleeve valve for said ports arranged outside of said container means attached .to said container for locking said slide valve in a closed pdsition a prearranged amount of force, and means connected to said container to lock said sleeve in its open position.

JAMES D; BALL. 

